NOTES FROM THE 2025 UPPER DECK NHL DRAFT
A total of 224 players born in 17 countries and from 27 leagues were selected in the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft, which concluded Saturday at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater.
* Day 1 #NHLStats Live Updates
* Day 2 #NHLStats Live Updates
“WELCOME TO THE NHL” REVEALS BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT DRAFT
The future of hockey will be on full display when NHL Productions presents the award-winning “Welcome to the NHL,” presented by BODYARMOR Sports Drink, which goes behind the scenes with exclusive access to several of the top prospects for the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft. The first episode, “Meet the Prospects,” is available now and episode two, titled “Class of 2025,” will premiere in September and feature exclusive access to the 2025 NHL Draft class.
DAY TWO TRADES
Day two of the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft featured multiple trades including players and draft picks. Notable players involved in the deals included John Gibson, Petr Mrazek and Jordan Spence. Click here for details.
PICKS BY BIRTH COUNTRY
Seventeen birth countries were represented across the 224 picks in the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft – the most in 21 years and just the fifth time in draft history with as many (18 in 2000; 17 in 2004, 2002 & 1999).
* Simon (Haoxi) Wang (Beijing, China) was selected 33rd overall and became the highest selected Chinese-born player in NHL history. He was introduced to hockey at the age of four in Beijing and moved to Canada when he was 12, where he was introduced to hockey. Wang told NHL.com he hopes one day his record will be broken again.
* Jakob Ihs Wozniak (Adelaide, Australia) was selected 55th overall by the Golden Knights and became the third Australian-born player – and highest – to be selected in the NHL Draft, following Jordan Spence (95th overall by LAK in 2019) and Darren Gani (252nd overall in 1984 by EDM). He was born in Australia but is a Swedish national.
* Tinus Luc Koblar, a Norwegian national who was born in Slovenia, was selected 64th overall by the Maple Leafs and became the eighth Slovenian-born skater – and second highest – to be taken in the NHL Draft.
* Matous Jan Kucharcik (Vipiteno, Italy) became the fourth Italian-born player selected in the NHL Draft, joining Damian Clara (60th overall in 2023), Luca Sbisa (19th overall in 2008) and Victor Posa (137th overall in 1985). Kucharcik is a Czechia national.
* William Belle (Dongguan, China) was chosen 137th overall by the Maple Leafs, which made the 2025 NHL Draft the first in NHL history to feature two players born in China. Entering Saturday, the only Chinese-born players to be selected were Kevin He (109th overall in 2024 by WPG) and Andong Song (172nd overall in 2015 by NYI). Belle is a U.S. national and was a member of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program’s Under-18 Team.
* Bruno Idzan (Zagreb, Croatia) was selected 181st overall by Ottawa and became the second Croatian-born player to be selected in the NHL Draft, following Goran Bezina (No. 234 in 1999 by PHX). Idzan has represented Croatia at international events, while Bezina represented Switzerland. Bezina (3 GP) and Borna Rendulic (15 GP) are the only Crotian-born players to skate in the NHL.
Birth country quick hits:
* A total of 88 Canadian-born players were selected, the most since 2016 (89).
* A total of 27 Swedish-born players were selected, the most since 2020 (32).
* A total of 50 U.S.-born players were selected, tied for the most over the past five drafts (also 50 in 2023 & 2021).
| Birth Country | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Total |
| Canada | 20 | 7 | 16 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 88 |
| United States | 6 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 50 |
| Sweden | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 27 |
| Russia | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 21 |
| Czechia | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| Finland | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 | ||
| Germany | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Belarus | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| Slovakia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| China | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| Switzerland | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| Australia | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Croatia (Hrvatska) | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Denmark | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Italy | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Norway | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Slovenia | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 224 |
PICKS BY LEAGUES
* The 32 NHL franchises selected players from 27 junior leagues.
| League | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Total |
| OHL | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 38 |
| WHL | 9 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 33 |
| SWEDEN-JR. | 7 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 28 | |
| USHL | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 27 |
| RUSSIA-JR. | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 21 |
| QMJHL | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 19 | ||
| NTDP – USHL | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 13 | ||
| FINLAND-JR. | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | ||||
| BIG10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||
| FINLAND | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| HIGH-MN | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| BCHL | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| CZECHIA-JR. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| H-EAST | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| SWEDEN-2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| HIGH-ON | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| NCHC | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| SWEDEN-JR. U18 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| CCHL | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| CZECHIA | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| GERMANY | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| HIGH-MA | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| HIGH-RI | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| RUSSIA | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| SWEDEN | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| SWISS | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| SWISS-JR. | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Total | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 224 |
PICKS BY TEAM
* Pittsburgh topped all teams with 13 selections in the 2025 NHL Draft. It has been over 30 years since the Penguins made as many picks in a draft (14 in 1994).
| NHL Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Total |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| Anaheim Ducks | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | |
| Los Angeles Kings | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Montréal Canadiens | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | |
| New York Islanders | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | |||
| San Jose Sharks | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| Calgary Flames | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| Detroit Red Wings | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| New York Rangers | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | |||
| Boston Bruins | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |||
| Nashville Predators | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |||
| New Jersey Devils | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | |||
| Utah Mammoth | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| Dallas Stars | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| Florida Panthers | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |||
| Ottawa Senators | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| Seattle Kraken | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| Vancouver Canucks | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| Edmonton Oilers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Minnesota Wild | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | ||||
| Washington Capitals | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Winnipeg Jets | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Vegas Golden Knights | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||
| Colorado Avalanche | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| St. Louis Blues | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 224 |
PICKS BY POSITION
| Position | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Total |
| D | 8 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 7 | 69 |
| C | 14 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 66 |
| RW | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 39 |
| LW | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 26 |
| G | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 24 |
| Total | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 224 |
